Winter 2014 Class Descriptions

As of 8/2/2015 5:07:24 AM

Legislation

We live in an age of statutes, regulations, and administrative rules.
This seminar explores the distinctive legal and political problems and principles involved in the shift from common law to statutes as the source of law governing much modern American social and economic life.
While covering some basic issues like the legislative process and statutory interpretation, the seminar also intends to delve deeply into some of the interdisciplinary perspectives from history, political theory, and political economy that have recently done so much to shape and enliven this field of inquiry. Topics to be discussed include: the historical origins of parliamentarism, the rise of legislative regulation, the implementation of statutes in the administrative state, the problem of representation, and the significance of the legislature in modern democratic theory.